Statutes of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Source: Unofficial Text
Text of Statutes, done at Rome on 5 December 1956, as amended by the General Assembly of the Centre at its second session on 24 April 1963 and at its seventh session on 12 April 1973.
Article 1
Functions
The "International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property", hereinafter called "the Centre", shall exercise the following functions:
(a) collect, study and circulate documentation concerned with scientific and technical problems of the preservation and restoration of cultural property;
(b) co-ordinate, stimulate or institute research in this domain, by means, in particular, of commissions to bodies or experts, international meetings, publications and exchanges of specialists;
(c) give advice and make recommendations on general or specific points connected with the preservation and restoration of cultural property;
(d) assist in training research workers and technicians and raising the standard of restoration work.
Article 2
Membership
The membership of the Centre shall consist of those Member States of Unesco which send a formal declaration of accession to the Director-General of the Organization.
Article 3
Associate Members
The following shall be eligible for Associate Membership of the Centre:
(a) public or private institutions of a scientific or cultural nature of States which are not members of Unesco.
Admission to Associate Membership shall be on the recommendation of the Executive Board of Unesco and by decision of the Council of the Centre taken by a two-thirds majority.
(b) public or private institutions of a scientific or cultural nature of those Member States or Associate Members of Unesco.
Admission to Associate Membership shall be by decision of the Council of the Centre taken by a two-thirds majority.
Article 4
Organs
The Centre shall comprise: a General Assembly, a Council, a Secretariat.
Article 5
The General Assembly
The General Assembly shall consist of the delegates of the States belonging to the Centre, each of which shall be represented by one delegate.
These delegates should be chosen from amongst the best qualified technical experts and if possible representing specialized institutions concerned with the preservation and restoration of cultural property.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Associate Members may be represented at sessions of the General Assembly by observers, who shall be entitled to submit proposals, but not to vote.
The General Assembly shall meet in ordinary session every two years. It may also be convened in extraordinary session by the Council. Unless the General Assembly or the Council decides otherwise, the General Assembly shall meet in Rome.
The General Assembly shall elect its President at the beginning of each regular session. It shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.
Article 6
The General Assembly: Functions
The functions of the General Assembly shall be to:
(a) decide on the policy of the Centre;
(b) elect the members of the Council;
(c) appoint the Director, on the proposal of the Council;
(d) study and approve the reports and the activities of the Council;
(e) supervise the financial operations of the Centre, examine and approve its budget;
(f) fix the contributions of members, on the basis of the scale of contributions for the Member States of Unesco;
(g) decide on the application of sanctions as laid down in Article 13.
Article 7
The Council
(a) The Council shall consist of members elected by the General Assembly and special members.
(b) The number of members elected by the General Assembly should not be less than twelve. This number may be increased by one person for each group of five Member States after the first thirty.
(c) Special members shall be: a representative of the Director-General of Unesco; a representative of the Italian Government; the Director of the Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique, Brussels; the Director of the Istituto Centrale del Restauro, Rome; a representative of the International Council of Museums and a representative of the International Council of Monuments and Sites.
(d) The Director of the Centre, representatives of other institutions and experts appointed by the Council may attend the meetings of the Council in an advisory capacity. Except that they shall not be entitled to vote, they shall participate in the work and discussions of the Council on the same footing as the members proper.
(e) The members elected by the General Assembly shall be chosen from amongst the best qualified experts concerned with the preservation and restoration of cultural property taking into consideration equitable representation of the major cultural regions of the world. They must all be of different nationalities.
(f) The members elected by the General Assembly shall be elected for a term of two years, and shall be eligible for re-election.
(g) The Council shall meet at least every two years.
(h) The Council may entrust any definite task or tasks to a Special Committee of which it will decide the composition.
(i) The Council shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.
Article 8
The Council: Functions
The functions of the Council shall be to:
(a) carry out the decisions and directives of the General Assembly;
(b) exercise such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Assembly;
(c) establish the draft budget, on the proposal of the Director, and submit it to the Assembly;
(d) examine and approve the work plan submitted by the Director;
(e) establish the contributions of the Associate Members.
Article 9
Correspondents
The Council may, in accordance with its Rules of Procedure, appoint corresponding experts, who may be consulted on all questions within their special competence.
Article 10
Secretariat
The Secretariat shall consist of the Director and such staff as the Centre may require.
The Director shall be appointed by the General Assembly, on the proposal of the Council. The appointment to a vacancy occurring in the intervals between sessions of the Assembly shall be made by the Council, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, which shall also fix the term of office.
Assistants to the Director shall be appointed, on the proposal of the Director, by the Council. Appointments to any vacancies occurring in the intervals between sessions of the Council shall be made by the Director, subject to confirmation by the Council, which shall also fix the term of office.
The Director and his assistants must be specialists in different branches of study; they may not be of the same nationality.
The other members of the Secretariat shall be appointed by the Director.
In the discharge of their duties, the Director and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any authority external to the Centre.
Article 11
Legal status
The Centre shall enjoy, on the territory of every member thereof, the legal capacity necessary for the attainment of its aims and the exercise of its functions.
The Centre may receive gifts or legacies.
Article 12
Transitional provisions
For the first two years, the annual contribution of members shall be 1% of their contribution to Unesco for the year 1957.
For each of the first four years, Unesco's contribution shall not be less than $12,000.
Until the first meeting of the General Assembly which shall take place, at latest, within 18 months of the entry into force of the present Statutes, the functions vested in the General Assembly and the Council shall be exercised by an Interim Council composed of:
- a representative of the Director-General of Unesco;
- a representative of the Italian Government;
- the Director of the Laboratoire Central des Musées, Belgium;
- the Director of the Istituto Centrale del Restauro, Rome;
- and a fifth member appointed by the Director-General of Unesco.
The Interim Council shall convene the first General Assembly.
Article 13
Sanctions
The Members and Associate Members who have not paid their contribution for two or four consecutive years, shall be liable respectively to a penalty of suspension or exclusion.
Article 14
Revision
Amendments to the present Statutes shall be adopted by the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority vote of the members present and voting.
Proposals for amendments shall be communicated to all members and to Unesco six months prior to the session of the General Assembly on whose agenda they are to be placed. Proposed amendments to such amendments shall be communicated three months prior to the beginning of the session of the General Assembly.
Article 15
Withdrawal of Member States
Any member may give notice of withdrawal from the Centre at any time after the expiry of a period of two years from the date of its accession. Such notice shall take effect one year after the date on which it is communicated to the Director General of Unesco, provided that the member concerned has, on that date, paid its contributions for all the years during which it belonged to the Centre, including the financial year following the date of the notice of withdrawal. The Director-General of Unesco shall communicate said notice to all the members of the Centre and to the Director.
Article 16
Entry into force
These Statutes shall enter into force when five States have become members of the
Centre.
